Paper instructions:
Choose one of the documents below to read from either category.
Write a 250 word initial post and and present your interpretation of the document and the material you have been introduced to in this module.

Category 1: Calculus of Slavery

Of the Servants and Slaves in Virginia (http://www.swarthmore.edu/SocSci/bdorsey1/41docs/59-bev.html)

Why do you think that the document makes such a strong distinction between the male and female slaves and servants? What does this say about a women’s place in society (slave or servant)?
How effective were the legal rights granted to indentured servants?
Are the concessions given at the end of the document a reflection of reality at this time? Why or why not?

Richard Frethorne, Letter to his Parents (1623) )

Does the servants call to be back in England say anything about what the conditions they were promised as a laborer and what they received?
Does the ill treatment of indentured servants reveal anything about how the elite viewed this source of labor?

Elizabeth Sprigs, Letter to get Father (http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5796)

Why did Elizabeth become an indentured servant in Maryland?
What were the conditions that drove Elizabeth to be her father for aid.

Category 2: Provincals

Crévecoeur, Letters From an American Farmer (http://www2.fiu.edu/~harveyb/Crev.html)

Crévecoeur portrays America as a melting pot of immigrants from many lands. Do you see this portrayal as being accurate? What group(s) does he leave out of his portrait?
Do you agree with Crévecoeur assertion that the American people possessed a character that was unique and distinct from the characters of their European ancestors? If so, what made the American character unique?

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